It's not a pretty picture and from what I hear, it comes with a built-in stink that you can't wash off. I saw one picture of somebody running a hose from her dock into the stinking, algae coated water to make it spread apart so a manatee could stick its head out of the water to breathe (you can watch the video of that in the link marked with the * below). This is happening because industrial chemicals and fertilizers used by the sugar cane industry are leaking into Lake Okeechobee and from there into rivers, streams, and canals to the sea. I blame our businesscentric Repugnicant Governor Rick "Skeletor" Scott and his party cronies for allowing this to happen. According to the Gainesville Sun "The sugar industry, led by United States Sugar and Florida Crystals, steered $57.8 million in direct and in-kind contributions to state and local political campaigns between 1994 and 2016... Environmental groups argue the political contributions resulted in the state softening regulations for sugar cane growers and other agricultural operations and undermining voter-approved Everglades cleanup initiatives." $33.3 million in political contributions went to U.S. Sugar from Michigan-based Charles Stewart Mott, heir to Mott's Applesauce. You can read more here.

You can read a quick summation of how the failure of Governor Skeletor and his legislative cronies to act in advance allowed this environmental disaster to happen here.

Please click to enlarge.

Of course, your sweet tooth drives this industry so, if you're a big soda fan, you're partly responsible. Cutting back could do your body good. And Gaia's too. ​ Check out this info graph and see if having your soda and drinking it too is worth it.

Don't know if it can do any good-- aside from giving corporate management a good laugh-- but you could sign this petition against "Big Sugar." At least it's a whole lot safer than what the New Seminole tried to do. I suspect, however, that the results will be just the same-- nothing will happen (but at least no one will die). Regarding the petition, a surf shop manager hard hit by the crisis who has had enough put it together. He's demanding that Publix (Florida's largest grocery chain) stop carrying products from U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals. So far in one week, he's had more than 10.000 people sign the petition. You can read more here.*

BTW, if you read my last book you know we got blamed for blowing up the Lake Okeechobee dike which allowed millions of gallons of water to crash down upon a sleeping populace of Outsiders but what's happening now is far worse. Water, like Noah's Great Flood, washes shit away to start all over again with a better, newly improved rendition of the old. Think of the Okeechobee dike explosion as a Gaia Colonic. Not pretty but maybe it had to be done-- not that we did it.

​This algae bloom which smells like the worst farts you can imagine has inspired a song by a couple of SoFla DJs who happen to be part of the 97.9 WRMF morning show The KVJ Show . That risque, always bonkers show helps me get out of bed in the mornings while shacked up here at the Miccosukee Embassy seeking Sanctuary from Uncle Sam and his armed-to-the-teeth minions. Especially when you know the day is going to smell like rotten eggs and Gaia is wounded yet again by the Outside. I wake up laughing.